1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications switching and, more specifically, to a method and system for optimizing the usage of telecommunications switch resources.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current telecommunications network systems do not distinguish between valid and invalid calls, e.g., calls with proper or improper destination codes. Consequently, telecommunications traffic from one carrier network to another is sent indiscriminately to each other and a carrier must rely on its switches to terminate valid phone calls and to reject invalid phone calls. Such traffic can impose a tremendous load on a telecommunications switch and other switch resources, which could ultimately fail from overstress or operate at reduced capacity due to congestion.
This problem becomes more acute in the telecommunications trading environment where multiple carriers are transmitting traffic to each other contemporaneously through a central switch node operated by the trading exchange. The central switch node, regardless of whether the calls are invalid or invalid, could become significantly degraded and prohibit phone calls from terminating, thereby resulting in loss of revenue opportunities for the trading exchange and its member carriers.